Postgame Quotes/Notes - Storm 70, Los Angeles 52

The Storm won its fifth sixth straight game, tying the longest winning streak in franchise history (previously June 3-19, 2004 and July 15-31, 2005). All six wins have come by double-figures.

The 18-point margin tied the largest loss suffered this season by the Sparks (previously July 3 vs. Minnesota 88-70 and July 10 at Sacramento 87-69).

Los Angeles' 52 points were a season low. Previously, the team's low was the 69 points scored Thursday at Sacramento.

Lauren Jackson's five blocks were a season high and tied Swin Cash (June 14 at Houston) for the most by a Storm player this season.

Yolanda Griffith grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds.

The Storm improved to 11-3 when Cash (12) scores double-figures.

Lisa Leslie (nine points on 2-of-11 shooting) was held under double-figures for the second straight game and third time this season.

The 34.0 percent shooting by the Sparks was a season low (previously 36.7 percent July 3 vs. Minnesota) and their two three-pointers tied a season low.

The nine Sparks assists were a season low (13 at Washington on May 31).

L.A. had a season-low 29 rebounds and tied a season low with seven offensive boards. The Storm's 18 offensive rebounds were a Sparks opponent season high.

When Jackson was on the bench, the Storm outscored L.A. 17-11 (+6).

The Storm improved to 5-0 when forcing at least 20 turnovers. Seattle's 12 steals tied a season high, as did Griffith's four.

Los Angeles has scored fewer than 52 points just four times in team history.

July 12, 2008

STORM HEAD COACH BRIAN AGLER:On the Storm's defense:
One of the best defensive games Iíve seen or been associated with, and Iíve been associated with quite a few.

On the defensive strategy against Candace Parker:
We went to double her a couple times and she did a good job of passing out to shooters. But we went back to playing our normal defense. We werenít going to double anybody.

On Yolanda Griffith's performance:
Two plays stick in my mind: The big offensive rebound/stickback in the second half, then the loose ball where her body was parallel with the floor diving for it. Thatís the kind of effort and energy you have to have if youíre going to be a great team.

On playing well without Lauren Jackson because of foul trouble:
I thought we played well, but I wished she would have been in there. It was good for us for that to happen.

On getting contributions from multiple players:Ashley Robinson came in there and gave us some great minutes. Tanisha (Wright) off the bench was huge. Swin Cash was extremely focused tonight. You could see it in the aggressive plays and the rebounds she was getting.

On Jackson's replacement in the starting lineup:
A lot will depend on who weíre playing. It could be Ashley, Camille (Little), Tanisha, Katie Gearlds. We havenít been thinking about this, though in the back of my mind I havenít been looking forward to this day. Iím confident with the group we have that we can stay on the path of getting better each day.

On Sue Bird:
I donít know if thereís a better point guard in the world.

GUARD SUE BIRD:
On the win:
The minute I walked on the court, I said to (Lauren), 'This is like a playoff game.' Weíre all fighting for those four playoff spots, so this is a big win for us.

On preparing for Jackson's absence:
Sheís a pretty good player. But weíre ready. Weíve won some games to give ourselves a cushion. Itís going to be hard, because the (upcoming) games are on the road, and thatís been our 'problem' or 'issue' this year. But itís not just about me. Iím not going to go out and suddenly score 30. Thatís not happening. Sorry to break it to you guys. Everyone is going to have to raise their game a little bit.

On her jumper:
The pullup is something that is mine. Itís my go-to. Itís what I like to do. Tonight, (the Sparks) didnít want to let our post players roll. They were yelling 'Squeeze!' and holding our post player.

On replacing Jackson in the lineup:
The best thing about this team: options.

FORWARD LAUREN JACKSON:
On the game:
It was a very emotional win. Iím not sure why. Everyoneís really happy. It felt like a playoff game. The loss to them really sparked us and our winning streak. We wanted to do it for Brian because heís been pushing us so hard.

On Parker:
She could have dunked. Sheís very impressive. She could have dunked on the first play of the game, but she held back. If I was her, I would have dunked that. For real.

On her departure:
Iím pretty sure they are going to go and get some wins right now. Iím just so impressed with the way everybodyís playing. With Sue at the helm, I donít think we can lose.

LOS ANGELES HEAD COACH MICHAEL COOPER:On the game:
We played a good game in the first half, but as Pat Riley used to say, ĎNo rebounds, no rings.í I think that was the difference right there - 47-29 and you have 20 turnovers.

On the rebounding:
Oh, we knew that the only way they could beat us is to outrebound us. They did a good job tonight against us. Not just from their bigs, but from the point guard to the bench. We get three rebounds off our bench compared to 11 for them - you canít win games like that. Weíve addressed that, we said it coming into the game, we put it on the board, weíve done everything - itís up to our players. When that ball goes up, itís all bets off. Youíve either got to box out and if you donít want to box out, youíve got to go get the basketball. They did a better job tonight than us. But weíll see them again. I guarantee weíll be ready for them. You can print that.

On the L.A. offense:
I thought they did a good job of putting pressure on us and contesting our shots. I thought we shouldíve pump-faked a lot more than we did. You have to go the basket strong and against teams like this, especially on the road, youíve got to take the ball to the basket to score. And if you get a foul, fine. But we werenít doing that tonight. We were bailing out with jumpshots and we were just settling for things. You canít win tough games on the road by just settling. You still have to impose your will on teams. They did that better than us tonight.

On the Sparks:
Weíre in third place. Weíre a third-place team right now. I think weíre better than that. Weíve shown it in flashes. Weíre going to get there. Weíre a young team still with some veterans and some new people trying to get it together. Weíre trying to find ourselves. People talk a lot about Silk (Parker), who is a rookie in this league. Sheís done great things, but sheís still trying to figure this out. Sheís a rookie and sheís making rookie mistakes. She has to learn how to play against a player like Lauren Jackson. Sometimes you have to show her a pump-fake or something different.

Two times early in the first half she went with the same move and got it blocked. Thatís where she has to learn this league and understand how to get her points and how to do different things. Once again, this is not college. You canít make the same move on a person. Going from my playing days, you can beat me once, but youíre not going to beat me twice on the same move. Thatís how Lauren Jackson is and the rest of the players around the league. She has to come with something a little different. And she will because sheís that smart of a player. But I think the physical part is whatís surprising to her - how aggressive players are and how physical they are defensively.

CENTER LISA LESLIE:
On the rebounding differential:
That was definitely the difference. We didnít box out tonight. I thought they did an awesome job. It wasnít their first shot that beat us, it was their second shot. We just did a terrible job of staying focused on that and boxing out, so Iím sure weíll focus on that and take care of it in practice.

On the Storm's defense:
I didnít think it was their defense or their pressure or anything. We just finished playing Sacramento and thatís pressure defense. I thought the difference was they wanted it more than we did and their rebounding was the difference.

On playing against Griffith:
I missed some shots that I normally make. I donít know that it was Yolanda, but whatever you need to write.

On positives from the game:
Yes, it was good to see them cheering. Great crowd. Itís not over. Itís not over.

On whether the Storm has improved between the two matchups of the teams:
Honestly, I could care less about the Storm. I donít have anything to help feed you for the Storm. Iím only worried about the Sparks and weíve just got to do a better job the next time we see them.

FORWARD CANDACE PARKER:
On the rebounding margin:
We got pounded on the boards, both defensively and offensively. Itís just a matter of putting a body on somebody, blocking out and securing the ball.

On frustrating in the game:
Obviously nobody wants to lose, nobody likes to lose. But I think weíre going to do a good job of staying together. Weíve got our work cut out for us with seven of eight on the road coming up. We started the season 8-1, so weíll be OK.

On the crowd:
It was great for a WNBA game. They seem to always have great crowds and it was loud.

On deciding not to dunk early in the game:
Honestly, I didnít really worry about it. I do what I want to do at that juncture. At that moment in the game, I thought it was best for me to lay it up. We got the two points and it was on to the next play.

On having her shot blocked by Jackson:
She made a good play. She blocked my shot. Like I said, I try not to worry about the last play, the next play Ö I just try to go on. She made two or three very nice blocks.

On L.A.'s season-low scoring output:
I donít know what it was, but we have to fix it. None of us really shot the ball well. We didnít really get into our offense effectively and efficiently. When youíre not shooting the ball well, you need offensive rebounds and putbacks and we didnít have that tonight.